United Kingdom officials are “concerned” with the state of the Virgin Islands’ government’s finances, but discussions on revised borrowing guidelines and a possible pre-approval requirement for the territory’s budget have been postponed until January, Premier Dr. Orlando Smith said Tuesday.
Speaking at his first press conference since his National Democratic Party government was sworn in on Nov. 9, Dr. Smith gave details of his recent meetings with UK officials in London. He said that during private discussions with Henry Bellingham, the UK’s minister with responsibility for the overseas territories, Dr. Smith asked for and received more time to assess the territory’s finances before engaging in further talks.
He also explained that the UK has requested to review the VI’s annual budget two months before approval, a request that evolved from the borrowing guidelines as part of a “Framework of Fiscal Responsibility” the UK wants to impose on the VI.
See the Dec. 1, 2011 edition for full coverage.